Automatic restrike die and feed mechanism



Se t. 12, 1961 J. A. KLAVON, JR 2,999,527

AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 6Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 6Sheets-Sheet 2 AFG SeptlZ, 195 J. A. KLAVON, JR

AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 6Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

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Se t. 12, 1961 J. A. KLAVON, JR

AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 r 6Sheets-Sheet 4 p u R n M N V E A m M A y H s 0 J %N ww\ mm M V\\ 5 O OJ- wnnamn r fl 1-1 c i ||1| 0%\ 0 WM Q0... Vm w\ wb N% P mmi Sept. 12,1961 J. A. KLAVON, JR 2,999,527

AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 sSheets-Sheet 5 mall:

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AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE I DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 6Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

JOSEPH A. lam/01v JR.

BY W W! M 2,999,527 AUTOMATRC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Joseph A.Klavon, in, Jackson, Mich assignor to Kelsey- Hayes Company, Detroit,Mich, a corporation of Detaware Fiied Apr. 1, 1958, Ser. No. 725,752 4tliairns. (Ci. 153--34) This invention relates to apparatus for formingarticles and refers more particularly to a die adapted to restrike andfinish form brake shoes.

The invention has for one of its objects to provide a restrike die forfinish forming brake shoes which is autopoetic and which provides higherrates of production and greater safety for the operator.

The invention has for another object to provide an automatic feedmechanism for transferring brake shoes in succession to and from the diewhich is operated automatically in timed relation to the operation ofthe die.

Other objects and features of the inventionwill become apparent as thedescription proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of theinvention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of apparatus embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the indexing mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a view partly in section taken substantially on the line 44 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4, with one of the camsremoved in the interest of clarity.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of a portion of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a view taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is an elevation of a portion of FIG. 2, showing part of theendless chain of the feed mechanism and a fixture mounted on the chainand supporting a brake shoe.

FIG. 10 is a view taken on the line Iii-10 of FIGS. 2 and 9.

FIG. *11 is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on the line 1212 of FIG. 4.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the restrike die isgenerally indicated at 10 and the feed mechanism is generally indicatedat 12. The restrike die 10 includes a head 14 guided for verticalreciprocation and carrying the upper die 16. The head 14 is reciprocatedby a suitable source of power such as an electric motor (not shown)which drives a bull gear 18 having a chank connection (not shown) withthe ram 20 supporting the head so that continuous rotation of the bullgear will result in up and down movement of the head.

The restrilre die also includes the opposed lower dies 22 and 24 whichare supported beneath the upper die for horizontal movement toward andaway from each other. These opposed lower dies 22 and 24 are supportedfor Sliding movement on wear plates 26 respectively mount- PatentedSept. 12, 1961 ed on the base plates 28. The space between the lowerdies and beneath the upper die is hereinafter referred to as the formingor restrike station.

The restrike die is particularly adapted to restrike and finish formbrake shoes B. The brake shoes illustrated are all of the sameconstruction and comprise a fiat web 30 having a generally circularradially outer edge, and a generally circular rim 32 secured to theradially outer edge of the web and extending generally perpendicular tothe web. The web and rim provide the brake shoe with a cross-section ofgenerally T-shape.

' The lower dies 22 and 24 are of the same construction. Each is formedwith an upright enlargement 34 spaced outwardly from the inner extremitythereof to provide a recess in which is secured a die block 36 by bolts30'. Each die block has a circular periphery 37 adapted to fit the webside of the rim of a brake shoe disposed between the lower dies at theforming station. The radius of the circular periphery 37 generallycorresponds to the desired radius of curvature of the web side of therim after restriking, any ditference being the result of spring back ofthe rim after the restrike. The inner or adjacent surfaces of the dieblocks 35 are vertical and parallel to each other and are adapted togrip the web of the brake shoe during the restriking operation. Eachbase plate 28 has a housing 38 projecting upwardly there-from and formedwith a tunnel 4t) in which the outer portion of the associated lower dieslides. The outer end portion of each lower die and wear plate is ofreduced width to fit within the tunnel, the tunnel guiding the in andout sliding movement of the die. The

tunnel is open at both ends and the upper portion of to form a recess 42extending into the tunnel. Trunnions 4-6 are formed on the housingextending into the recess and rotatably receive the ends of pivot pin48. A lever 50 is carried by pin 48 for swinging about the horizontalaxis of the pin, and the outer side of the lever has a recess 52. Apivot pin 54 extends across the recess with its opposite ends secured tothe lever. The pin 54 is parallel to pin 48 and carries a roller 56 forcooperation with a cam on the upper die described more fullyhereinafter. The top of the tunnel has a wear plate 57 slidably engagingthe associated lower die.

Each lower die is formed with a central recess or notch at its outer endto provide spaced legs 58. The lower end of the lever 50 extends Withinthe space between legs 58 and is adapted to engage an abutment bar 6%secured to the lower die by bolts 60' to move the latter inwardly upondownward movement of the upper die, as will appear below.

A return block 62 extends between and is secured to the legs 58 of eachlower die and depends therefrom into a central recess 64 at the outerend of the base plate 28. A plurality of springs 66 extend into sockets68 of the base plate which open into the recess 64, and these springsare compressed between the closed ends of the sockets and the returnblock, urging the lower die to an outer limiting or retracted positionin which the legs 58 engage a stop plate 70 secured to the base plate 28and housing 38 by bolts 38. The wear plate 2.6 is formed with a recess72 for clearing the return block 62, and studs 74 carried by the returnblock extend into the coils of the respective springs to hold them inengagement with the return block.

The upper die 16 has secured thereto by bolts 76' a pair of cams 76 forcooperation with the rollers 56 of the respective levers 50. The camsare identical and have the vertical cam surfaces 78 which terminate atthe lower ends in the inclined cam surfaces 80. In the upper limitingposition of the reciprocable upper die, the cams 76 are disposed abovethe rollers 56 so that the levers 50 may yield and permit a normalretraction of the lower dies to their outer limiting positions. The stopplates 70 back up the cams 76 and guide their vertical movement.

The upward projection 34 of each die is formed with a slanted outer wallto which is secured a cam plate 82. A vertical cam plate 84 is securedto the inner side of each housing 38 above the tunnel, and the camplates .82 and 84 cooperate to provide a recess of decreasingcross-section for receiving a cam 86 carried by the upper die. Each cam86 is vertically movable relative to the upper die between the guideplates 88 and 90 respectively secured to upper die 16 by bolts 88 and99, and bolts 92 secured to and projecting upwardly from the cam arefreely received in passages in the upper die. The heads 94 of the boltsare free to move in the counterbores 95 of the passages and are limitedin their downward movement by the shoulders at the bottom of thecounterbores. Compression coil springs 96 encircle the bolts and extendinto recesses 98 and 100 in the upper die and cam respectively,yieldably urging the cam downwardly relative to the upper die. Each cam86 has ribs 102 at opposite sides engageable with flanges 104 of blocks106 carried by the upper die, limiting downward movement of the cams.

The underside of the upper die is formed with a concave circular surface107 which is curved to the desired radius of the outer side of the rimof the shoe, and is engageable with the rim of a shoe at the restrikestation upon downward movement of the upper die. Any difference betweenthe radius of surface 107 and the outer side of the shoe rim afterrestriking results from a slight spring back of the rim.

The feed mechanism comprises an endless link chain 110 which extendsaround idler sprockets 112 and driven sprocket 113 carried by suitableframe structure 114.

A plurality of upstanding fixtures 116 are carried by the chain 110 inequally spaced relation about the entire length of the chain. Eachfixture 116 is in the form of a flat plate welded or otherwise securedto a mounting block 113 which has depending laterally spaced legs 120secured to the links of the chain. The legs are located centrally withrespect to the mounting block, and the opposite ends of the mountingblock engage the chain to prevent tilting or rocking in the plane of thefixture. Each fixture is provided with two pairs of laterally spacedclips 122 which cooperate with the upper edge of the fixture to providea recess for receiving the web of the shoe, which has a thickness equalto or slightly greater than that of the fixture. The clips are beveledat their upper ends to permit the webs to be inserted withoutdifficulty. A pair of laterally spaced rods 124 are carried by the frame114 on opposite sides of the path of travel of the upper course of thechain, being mounted on the frame 114 by the brackets 126. The rods 124are parallel and provide a guide for holding the fixtures upright andpreventing lateral tilting thereof. The opposite ends of the guideformed by the rods are open to permit the fixtures to enter and leavethe guide. The chain is adapted to travel in the direction of the arrowin FIG. 2 and the rods 124 terminate just short of the die mechanism.The die blocks 36 of the lower dies are recessed at 125 to clear theseclips.

A pulley 130 is mounted on the shaft of bull gear 18 and drives .apulley 132 through belt 134. The pulley 132 is associated with anindexing mechanism 136 which is located within the housing 138. Theindexing mechaof the plungers.

nism comprises a Geneva pinion 140 which is secured to the shaft 142 ofpulley 132 and is provided with a roller 144 at its outer end and a hub146. The Geneva mechanism also includes a driven member 148 which is aGeneva wheel secured to the shaft 150 and having the radial slots 152and the intermediate spoke portions 154 formed with concave peripheries.The roller of the Geneva pinion is engageable in the radial slots andthe hub is formed to fit the concave peripheries of the spoke portionswhen the roller is disengaged from a slot and to clear the parts of thespoke portions immediately adjacent the slot when the roller is inengagement with the slot. The shaft 150 is connected by suitable gearingto the shaft 158 which drives the shaft 160 through gearing 162. Theshaft 160 is secured to sprocket 113 of the feed mechanism tointermittently advance the latter during the continuousrotation of thebull gear and reciprocation of the upper die. The Geneva mechanism andgearing is such that the intermittent advance of the feed mechanism isequal to the spacing between adjacent fixtures. The timing is such thatthe feed mechanism will advance the fixtures one position to present anew fixture'at the restrike station between the opposed dies while theupper die is in the upper half of its stroke and the lower dies areretracted. It will be understood that the dies, in their retractedpositions, provide sufiicient space at the restrike station to permitthe movement of the fixtures relative thereto. 7

Each base plate is provided with a pair of stops 166 mounted thereon inposition to engage the abutments 168 carried by the respective lowerdies to provide limits of inward movement for the latter. The spacingbetween the die blocks 36 in the inner limiting positions of the lowerdies is slightly less than the thickness of the web of a brake shoe sothat the web will be firmly gripped between the die blocks. Moreover,the fixtures support the brake shoes at the restrike station with therim of the shoe only slightly above the circular peripheries37 of thedie blocks 36 so that they may move within the rim of the shoe. Theinner edges of these circular surfaces are beveled to facilitate suchmovement.

The die shoe 24 has a pair of laterally spaced projecting pins extendinginwardly from the inner edge thereof. The pin 170 is cylindrical and hasa beveled nose, and the inner extremity of the die 22 is formed with arecess for receiving the pin in the inner limiting positions of thelower dies. The pin is adapted to extend through a round hole 172 in thetrailing portion of the fixture at the forming station to locate thatportion of the fixture both vertically and in the direction of travel ofthe feed mechanism. The hole 172 is only slightly larger than the pin170. The other pin 174 is like the first except that it is formed toprovide flats on opposite sides and extends through a hole 176 (FIG. 9)in the leading portion of the fixture. The major dimension of pin 174,which extends vertically, is only slightly smaller than the hole 176 inthe fixture to locate the leading end of the fixture vertically. Arecess is provided in the die 22 to receive pin 174. Both pins cooperateto locate the fixture vertically, and enterthe holes in the fixtureafter the die blocks 38 enter the rim of the shoe. The tapered noses ofthe pins aid their entry into the fixture holes and pull down on thefixture to hold the rim of the shoe against die blocks 38.

The die 24 is also provided with plunger-s 180 which extend from theinner extremity thereof toward the die 22 and are adapted to extend intorecesses in the die 22 in the inner limiting positions of the dies.Theseplungers are slidable in die 24 and project throughverticallyelongated openings 182 (FIG. 9) in a fixture at the formingstation. Limit switches 183 are carried by the die 24 and have actuators184 extending through openings in the die for engagement with thereduced portions 186 In the event that the fixture is not 75 properlypositioned at the restrike station with its slot respectively inregister with the plungers, the plungers will engage an imperforateportion of the fixture during inward movement of the lower dies, causingthe plungers to move relative to the actuators of the limit switches toactuate the latter. These limit switches 183 are placed in the powercircuit of the electric motor for driving the bull gear and are adaptedto open the circuit when actuated by a misaligned fixture. There is nospring return for the plungers so that the source of the trouble may bemore easily determined.

In operation, an operator will be stationed at the left end of the feedmechanism, FIG. 2, and as the chain 110 advances intermittently he willplace on successive fixtures a brake shoe B. A fixture carrying a brakeshoe is advanced to and positioned at the restrike station between thedies upon each intermittent advance of the chain 110, while the dies areretracted. Downward movement of the upper die results in inward movementof the lower dies through the action of levers 50 engaging abutment bars60, the levers being actuated by earns 76 carried by the upper die.

If the fixture is not properly located at the restrike station, one orboth of the plungers 180 will engage an imperforate portion of thefixture actuating the associated limit switch 183 to shut ofl the powerand stop both the die mechanism and feed mechanism. The movement of thedies toward the restrike station will stop immediately. If, however, thefixture is properly positioned at the restrike station, the plungerswill enter the holes 132 in the fixture and the lower dies will continueto move toward each other and the die blocks 36 will enter the rim ofthe shoe. Thereafter the pins 170 and 174 will enter the holes 172 and176 in the fixture. Both pins cooperate in accurately locating thefixture vertically pulling it downwardly slightly, the flexible chain110 permitting this, and causing the rim of the shoe to move downagainst the die blocks 36. The pivotal connection between the fixturesand chain assist the accurate vertical positioning of the fixture. Pin170 also locates the fixture in accurate position longitudinally of thedirection of travel of the chain 110.

The die blocks 36 of the lower dies then engage and grip the web of theshoe, the recesses 125 in the die blocks 36 clearing the clips 122. Theweb is now firmly gripped and further downward movement of the upper dieengages its surface 107 with the rim of the shoe. The adjacent faces ofthe die blocks 36, together with their surfaces 38 and surface 107 ofthe upper die, cooperate to form the rim of the shoe to circular shapeand to square it with the web.

When the upper die retracts, springs 66 retract the lower dies and thefeed chain advances for another cycle. The shoes will then be manuallyremoved from the fixtures at the righthand end of the feed mechanism,FIG. 2, or they may be permitted to drop from the fixtures by gravity.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Apparatus for finish forming an article such as a brake shoe ofT-section composed of a Web and a transverse rim extending along oneedge of the web, said ap paratus comprising a support for the shoe,opposed dies on opposite sides of said support movable toward each otheralong guided paths to grip the web of the shoe on said support andhaving surfaces engaging the web side of the trim on opposite sides ofthe web while the web is gripped, a third die movable transversely ofsaid guided paths and toward said support into engagement with theopposite side of the rim and cooperable with said surfaces of saidopposed dies to shape the rim and square it with respect to the web,means operated by the move ment of said third die toward said guidedpaths for moving said opposed dies toward each other into grippingrelation with the web prior to the engagement of said third die with therim, and back-up cams carried by said third die and wedgingly engageablewith said opposed dies during the final stage of the movement of saidthird die toward said paths for urging said opposed dies toward eachother into firm gripping engagement with'the web and for backing up saidopposed dies during the subsequent engagement of said third die with therim, means mounting said back-up cams on said third die forreciprocation relative to said third die in the direction of movement ofthe latter, and resilient means yieldably opposing movement of saidback-up cams relative to said third die away from said guided paths.

2. Apparatus for finish forming a brake shoe of T- section composed of aweb having a generally arcuate edge and a generally arcuate rim securedto and extending along said edge of the web in generally perpendicularrelation thereto, said apparatus comprising a support for the shoe,opposed dies on opposite sides of said support movable along guidedpaths toward each other to grip the Web of the brake shoe on saidsupport and having arcuate surfaces shaped to have a continuousengagement with the web side of the rim on opposite sides of the webwhile the web is gripped, a third die movable transversely of said pathsand toward said support having an arcuate surface engageable with theopposite side of the rim in response to such movement of said third die,said arcuate surfaces of said dies cooperating to shape the rim of theshoe to finish arcuate form and to square it with the web, and meansoperated by the movement of said third die toward said guided paths formoving said opposed dies toward each other into gripping relation withthe web prior to the engagement of said arcuate surface of said thirddie with the rim, said means including levers pivoted on fixed axes andangularly movable about their pivots for engaging and moving saidopposed dies toward each other during the initial stage of the movementof said third die toward said paths to positions in wtu'ch the arcuatesurfaces of said opposed dies engage the web side of the rim, camscarried by said third die for thus angularly moving said levers, andback-up cams carried by said third die and wedgingly engageable withsaid opposed dies during the final stage of the movement of said thirddie toward said paths for urging said opposed dies toward each otherinto firm gripping engagement with the web and for backing up saidopposed dies during the subsequent engagement of the arcuate surface ofsaid third die with the rim, means mounting said back-up cams on saidthird die for reciprocation relative to said third die in the directionof movement of the later, said last-mentioned means being resilient andyieldalbly opposing movement of said back-up cams relative to said thirddie away from said guided paths.

3. Apparatus for finish forming an article of T-section composed of aweb and a transverse flange extending along one edge of the web, saidapparatus comprising a support for the article, opposed dies on oppositesides of said support movable toward each other to grip the web of thearticle on said support and having surfaces engageable with the web sideof the flange on opposite sides of the web while the web is gripped, athird die movable transversely of said paths and toward said support andhaving a surface engageable with the opposite side of the flange inresponse to such movement of said third die, said surfaces of said diescooperating to shape the flange of the article and to finish form andsquare it with the web, means for moving said dies, and locating meansfor accurately positioning said support relative to said dies, saidlocating means comprising spaced first and second pins carried by one ofsaid opposed dies and spaced first and second recesses in said supportrespectively in register with said pins for receiving the latter, saidfirst pin being cylindrical and said first recess being cylindrical andadapted to closely receive with said first pin to hold the supportagainst translation relative thereto, the dimension of said secondrecess measured on a radius from said first recess substantiallyexceeding the corresponding dimension of said second pin and thedimension of said second recess measured at right angles to assess?References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS GouldJan. 1, 190 1 Baumgarten Nov. 20, 1923 Schenck Jan. 26, 1926 Groehn Dec.30, 1930 Marshall Q Apr. 9, 1935 Witt Oct. 15,1957

